Importance Of Communication In Crisis Management – Case Study Of Government Sectors In Abu Dhabi

Different aspects of crisis management

Do a reseach on role of communication in Crisis Management.

The importance of crisis management is increasing in the dynamic world so as to enhance the functioning of the organization. Failure to manage the crisis can result in a loss to the organization and threat to the existence of the organization. Various organizations are facing crisis which are acting as a threat to the survival of the organization. The term crisis can be explained as the threat to the operations of the organization which results in negative consequences (Marra, 2013). The impact of threat or crisis can be seen on the performance of the organization, financial loss, and loss of reputation. One of the most important factors which can help in dealing with the crisis in a better manner is communication. Communication has played a vital role as it has helped in coping with the crises faced by the government sectors of Abu Dhabi. Communication is an effective approach which helps in making the employees aware of the role they have to play for the management of the crisis (Johansen, et. al., 2012).

This research program will explain different aspects including communication and crisis management. This research will focus on establishing a link between communication and crisis management. The crisis has affected the government sector of Abu Dhabi in different ways. These different ways will be discussed in this research.

This research program has been conducted for the purpose of analysis of the role played by communication in the management of crises with respect to the practice in the government sector of Abu Dhabi. Research questions for this research are mentioned below:

• What is the role played by communication in crisis management?
• How is communication as a practice supporting the government sectors of Abu Dhabi in crisis management?
• Which factors are responsible for the crisis in the government sectors in Abu Dhabi

Crisis and crisis management

Crisis are the series of the unwanted events which takes place in the workplace which can result in negative impact on the organization and its performance. Crisis acts as a threat which causes harm to the organization and to the employees of the organization. Government sectors are operating with the motive to serve public and to control the operations. Crisis management has focused on management of the risks for mitigating the harm to the performance and reputation of the organization (Lando, 2014). Crisis management are the activities which are being performed for the prevention and evaluation of the events which acts as a threat. Government sectors of Abu Dhabi are facing a different crisis which needs to be dealt in an effective manner. These crises include technological crisis, confrontation crisis, workplace violence crisis, crisis due to rumors, malevolence crisis. All these types of the crisis have affected the performance, reputation and financial stability of the government sectors of Abu Dhabi (Ulmer, et. al., 2010).

Importance of communication

Communication is an important element which acts as a measure for the management of the crisis. Government sectors of Abu Dhabi are adopting communication as a practice for coping with the crisis faced by the sectors. Communication acts as an effective approach which has helped the government sectors to cope with the negative impacts of the crisis. Communication must be done for the purpose of saving the reputation of the organization and dealing with the unwanted challenges. Communication process needs to be adopted for the management of the crisis. For the purpose of dealing with the emergency situation, effective communication is a must. Communication helps in engaging the employees so as to manage the crisis in a better manner (Taylor, et. al., 2014).

Impact of crisis on Government sectors of Abu Dhabi

Link between communication and crisis management

According to Laajalahti, et. al. (2016), the motive behind designing crisis management process is to protect the organization and different stakeholders from the threats caused by the crisis. Crisis management process focuses on preventing the damage caused by the crisis to the organization and its stakeholders. Lack of communication process can result in a threat to the performance and financial stability of the government sectors of Abu Dhabi. Communication process contributes to the effectiveness of the information sharing process and leads to quick decision making. Communication is an effective approach which results in encouraging a better relationship between the different stakeholders. One of the most important reasons for choosing communication as a practice for crisis management is to protect the reputation of the organization and maintaining the financial stability (Stephens & Malone, 2010).

In the words of Taylor (2010), communication is an essential practice which has helped in overcoming the crisis faced by the government sectors of Abu Dhabi. It is vital to ensure that the flow of the information is smooth across the departments. There is a need to clearly define the targets, objectives, roles, and responsibilities so as to overcome the adverse situations. Effective flow of information has reduced the chances of errors or mistakes which have affected the performance of the government sectors of Abu Dhabi. The crisis has resulted in conflicts among the different individuals. Adopting communication as a practice for dealing with the crisis has enhanced the decision-making process. The crisis has affected the public relations of the government sectors of Abu Dhabi with the public or society. Government sectors have taken initiatives for the purpose of overcoming the crisis and its adverse impacts (Seon-Kyoung & I-Huei, 2010).

Impact of crisis on the government sectors in Abu Dhabi

The crisis has resulted in various adverse impacts on the government sectors in Abu Dhabi. This crisis can affect both managerial and organizational structure. These impacts of the crisis on the government sectors in Abu Dhabi are a failure of the internal communication, centralized authority, reduces the quality of the decision making process, reduces coordination, reduces the flexibility of organization, affects the morale of the staff, increases chances of fraud and corruption and increase in conflicts among the individuals (Lando, 2014).

Quality of the internal communication gets affected due to the crisis faced by the organizations. This can be due to the availability of insufficient or improper flow of information from outside of the organization. Government sectors of Abu Dhabi have faced this issue to the crisis. Increase in the centralization creates an impact on the structure of the government sectors of Abu Dhabi which has affected the decision-making process of the sectors. This delay in the decision-making process affects the flexibility of the sector. Another negative impact of the crisis on the government sectors is a reduction in the quality of the decision-making process (Kent, 2010).        

Need of coordination increases during the time of crisis. The crisis affects the coordination among the employees of the government sectors. Government sectors have faced situations of uncertainty due to which flexibility of the organization has been reduced.  Impact of crisis can be seen in the morale of the employees. Adverse conditions, workload, and panic at the workplace of the government sectors affect the behavior of the employees towards the organization. The crisis affects the focus of the management which can result in an increase in the chances of fraud and corruption. Increase in conflicts among the individuals due to a decrease in the coordination among the employees (Özdemir & Balkan, 2010).

Role of Communication in Crisis Management

Communication adopted as a practice by government sectors of Abu Dhabi for crisis management

Communication has been adopted as a practice for the purpose of dealing or managing the crisis. Communication as a practice provide guidance to the government sectors for coping with the crisis. Communication has helped in spreading awareness among the employees as well as enhances the morale of the employees. Effective communication has helped the government sectors in managing the impacts of crisis in a better manner by providing relevant data or information (Ficher, et. al., 2016). Communication will help in diagnosis of the crisis and its impact properly. Better plans can be formulated for overcoming the impacts of the crisis. Communication provides opportunity to the government sectors for managing the conflicts arising due to the crisis. Government sectors have used communication for establishing healthy relationship with the different stakeholders of the sectors (Pancic, 2010).

Research methodology is the collection of the various methods or approaches which are put to use for the purpose of accumulation of the required data. This section develops the knowledge of the various approaches or methods which will be applied for the accumulation of the relevant data. Communication is an important aspect which has enhanced the process of crisis management. These methods or approaches will ensure that reliable data will be assembled for developing knowledge of the concept of communication and its role in managing crisis.

Research design or method: there are various research methods available which can be used for the assembling of the data. For this research program, an explanatory method will be used. Explanatory research method helps in exploring an area for developing knowledge of the aspects in a better manner (Subedi, 2016). The explanatory research will ensure that the understanding of the reasons, causes, and effects of the reasons is developed. A detailed explanation will be provided of the different aspects of the research (Rahi, 2017). In-depth information will be assembled so as to analyze the relationship between the communication and crisis management.

Research approach: Qualitative research approach will be adopted for the purpose of collection of the data. The motive behind using qualitative research approach is to develop knowledge of the various reasons, opinions, and motivation attached to the topic of the research. Better insights of the problem will be gained with the help of qualitative research approach. This approach will help in explaining the reason hidden behind why crisis are occurring and role of communication in coping with the crisis faced. Different sources are being used in qualitative research approach for the assembling of the required data. These sources include interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, secondary sources, and observations (Smith, 2015). In this research program, primary sources, as well as secondary sources, will be put to use for accumulating the required data.

Data collection: a collection of the data will be done by adopting primary and secondary sources. Primary sources of data collection provide data directly collected from the respondents solely for the research program. Primary data is the raw form of data and is considered less reliable as the responses provided by the respondents are biased (Lowry, 2015). The questionnaire will be prepared and distributed for accumulating primary data. Secondary sources of data collection are the secondary form of data which are collected by others for their research work. Secondary data is the second-hand data which is considered more reliable as the data is collected and used (Johnston, 2014). Internet sources will be used for the collection of the secondary data.

Crisis Management process

Procedures and techniques: Analysis of the assembled data will be done with the use of random sampling technique so as to make sure that the data is analyzed within the time frame allocated. Random sampling technique is an effective approach which provides equal opportunity to every sample of the population of getting selected (Nishad & Sankar, 2016). This approach helps in analysis of the data within the allocated time and analysis of the data effectively.

Research timeframe: an action plan has been formulated on the basis of which different activities of the research will be carried out. These research activities will be conducted as per the time allocated so as to meet the objectives and maintaining the relevance of the research program.

Collection of data and targeted market: primary data will be gathered with the support of a questionnaire. The questionnaire will be distributed among the employees of government sectors of Abu Dhabi. Secondary data will be assembled with the help of the information available on the internet such as on government websites, notifications, articles, and journals. For maintaining the reliability of the secondary data, articles, journals or notifications will be used which have been issued or published after the year 2010.

Ethical consideration: ethics plays a crucial part as ethics guide the individual towards differentiating between right or wrong. Ethical considerations need to be considered while conducting the research. This will make sure that the research is conducted in the right manner by not creating harm to any individual. Ethical considerations or values which will be adopted while executing the research include confidentiality, honesty, fairness, and unbiasedness.

Limitations: certain factors act as limitations which can affect the quality of the research. It is essential to cope with these limitations for executing research successfully and attaining the expected outcomes of the research. Limitations which have been identified during the execution process of this research are the availability of limited time frame, scarcity of resources and lack of permission to access the data. Approaches will be used for the purpose of dealing with the limitations identified.

This research program has been carried out with a motive to gather data related to the role played by communication in managing crisis. Crisis management is an important aspect for every organization as it create impact on the performance and existence of the organization. This research program will develop the knowledge of the importance of communication and the manner in can be used for the management of crisis. This research will develop knowledge regarding the impacts of crisis on the organizations. Government sectors of Abu Dhabi have faced crisis and for the management of the crisis, communication as an effective approach has been followed. Knowledge will be developed regarding the link between both the aspects. Knowledge of the various methods or approaches for data collection will be developed.

Sequence	Activities	Initiation date	Duration (in Days)	Completion date	Description of the activity
1)	Choosing the topic for research program	08 January 2018	1	08 January 2018	Selection will be done of the topic on which research program will be carried out.
2)	Writing down the plans	09 January 2018	6	14 January 2018	Plans will be developed so as to prepare a base for the execution process.
3)	Initiating the implementation process of the plans	15 January 2018	10	24 January 2018	Plans developed will be executed for the attainment of the target or objectives of the research.
4)	Choosing methods of data collection	25 January 2018	1	25 January 2018	Selection will be done of the methods for the collection of the required data. Data will be gathered by applying primary and secondary sources of data collection.
5)	Collection of the relevant data using selected methods	26 January 2018	8	02 February 2018	Collection of data will be done with the help of the primary and secondary sources of data collection. The research will be based on the data collected during this phase.
6)	Analysis and evaluation process	03 February 2018	5	07 February 2018	Data accumulated during the previous phase will be analyzed and evaluated so as to make sure relevant data is presented.
8)	Conclusion and recommendations	08 February 2018	2	09 February 2018	Summary and recommendations for the research will be provided which will be based on the analyzed and evaluated data.

References

Ficher, D., Posegga, O. & Fischbach, K., 2016, “Communication Barriers in Crisis Management: A Literature Review”, Research Gate.

Johansen, W., Aggerholm, H. K. & Frandsen, F., 2012, “Entering new territory: A study of internal crisis management and crisis communication in organizations”, Public Relations Review, 38(2), pp.270–279.

Johnston, M. P., 2014, “Secondary Data Analysis: A Method of which the Time Has Come”, Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, pp. 619 –626.

Kent, M. L., 2010, “What is a public relations “crisis”? Refocusing crisis research”, The handbook of crisis communication.

Laajalahti, A., Hyvärinen, J. & Vos, M., 2016, “Crisis Communication Competence in Co-Producing Safety with Citizen Groups”, Social Sciences, Vol. 5, Issue 13.

Lando, A. L., 2014, “The Critical Role of Crisis Communication Plan in Corporations’ Crises Preparedness and Management”, Global Media Journal: Canadian Edition, 7(1), pp.5–19.

Lando, A. L., 2014, “The Critical Role of Crisis Communication Plan in Corporations’ Crises Preparedness and Management”, Global Media Journal — Canadian Edition, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 5-19.

Lowry, L. D., 2015, “Bridging the Business Data Divide: Insights into Primary and Secondary Data Use by Business Researchers”, IASSIST.

Marra, F. J., 2013, “The importance of communication in excellent crisis management”, Australian Journal of Emergency Management.

Nishad, P.M. & Sankar, S., 2016, “Efficient random sampling statistical method to improve big data compression ratio and pattern matching techniques for compressed data”, International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 179.

Özdemir, L. & Balkan, M. O., 2010, “The Positive and Negative Effects of Crisis on Organizations: An Application”, Research Gate.

Pancic, N., 2010, “Crisis Communication in theory and practice: Analysis of cultural influence, strategy applicability, and stakeholder relevance in Australia and New Zealand”, Master of International Communication.

Rahi, S., 2017, “Research Design and Methods: A Systematic Review of Research Paradigms, Sampling Issues and Instruments Development”, International Journal of Economics & Management Sciences.

Seon-Kyoung, A. & I-Huei, C., 2010, “Crisis communication research in public relations journals: Tracking research trends over thirty years”, The handbook of crisis communication.

Smith, N.L., 2015, “Using Action Design Research to Research and Develop Evaluation Practice”, New Directions for Evaluation, vol. 2015, no. 148, pp. 57-72.

Stephens, K. K. & Malone, P., 2010, “New media for crisis communication: Opportunities for technical translation, dialogue, and stakeholder responses”, The handbook of crisis communication.

Subedi, D., 2016, “Explanatory Sequential Mixed Method Design as the Third Research Community of Knowledge Claim”, American Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 4, No. 7, 570-577.

Taylor, M., 2010, “Toward a holistic organizational approach to understanding crisis”, The handbook of crisis communication, pp. 699-704.

Taylor, P., D’Cruz, P., Noronha, E. & Scholarios, D., 2014, “‘From boom to where?’: the impact of crisis on work and employment in Indian BPO”, New Technology, Work and Employment, Volume 29, Issue 2.

Ulmer, R. R., Sellnow, T. L., & Seeger, M.W., 2010, “Considering the future of crisis communication research: Understanding the opportunities inherent to crisis events through the discourse of renewal”, The handbook of crisis communication, pp. 691-697